Superintendent Appointment for Berkeley School District Still in Limbo

The Berkeley Township Board of Education voted to bring back former district superintendent and Freeholder Director Joseph H. Vicari as interim superintendent, then back-tracked and voted to table the vote because there was no attorney present.

Board Attorney John C. Sahradnick excused himself because of a conflict of interest.

The board also voted to hold a special meeting next week to resolve the situation. No date was set at the meeting.

The board voted 5 – 1, with one abstention on the first vote, then voted 5-0 with two abstentions on the second vote. Board member Dawn Parks voted no on the first motion and Board member Patrick Riley abstained. Both Parks and Riley abstained on the second vote. Board Vice President John A. Bacchione was not present at the meeting.

Board Member Steve Pellecchia introduced the motion in what he described as a cost-saving measure. Vicari had previously offered his temporary services at no cost to the district.

The superintendent position is currently being filled by interim Superintendent of Schools Arlene J. Lippincott. Lippincott's salary is $120,000 for her principal job at the Bayville Elementary School and $100 a day  for the superintendent's position. Lippincott has been working without a contract as interim superintendent since July of 2009.

The board voted 7-0 after an Oct. 7 closed session to authorize Sahradnik to begin negotiations with Lippincott for a possible three-year superintendent's contract. Board Member Thomas Guarascio was absent.

Riley said he abstained on the vote because the board had previously voted for Lippincott to fill the position.

“They’re running a circus," he said. "It’s a total disgrace. We voted for Arlene. You couldn’t make it any simpler than that.”

A previous school board decided not to renew Vicari's contract back in 2008. He left the district in June 2009, when his contract expired.

 Vicari has said he would consider returning to the Berkeley Township school district as acting superintendent free of charge, until the board can settle on a permanent replacement.

However, the longtime freeholder said he is not interested in any more full-time jobs in the educational field.

"I am at a point in my life where I don't want to do it," Vicari said in a previous interview.

Vicari has said his offer to return without pay or benefits as a temporary superintendent in the school district still stands. Vicari attended a meeting at their request before the Christmas holidays.

Vicari said he was asked by Bacchione and Board President James J. James Byrnes to drop by the district's administration building on Dec. 9.

"They called me to come in," Vicari said. "They just wanted to talk. I had no idea it was a (board) personnel committee meeting."

The two board members asked Vicari to think about returning as superintendent until the current school year ends in June 2011. Vicari said he decided to offer his services for free until the current school year ends in June 2011.

"I just thought I could make a valuable contribution to Berkeley Township," he said then. "I would probably be the only superintendent in New Jersey that offered to come back free of charge.”

The board also voted unanimously at the Oct. 7 meeting to advertise the vacant principal's position at the Bayville Elementary School. Lippincott has been filling in for that slot, along with the interim superintendent's position.